Overview

The rock legend tells the story of his wild ride with Martin Scorsese - as friends, adventure-seekers, and boundary-pushing collaborators - with all the heart of his New York Times bestselling memoir Testimony 'Intense, exciting, delirious' THE TIMES 'Thrilling, beautful, honest' TELEGRAPH 'A bracing read' INDEPENDENT For four decades, Robbie Robertson produced music for Martin Scorsese's films, a relationship that began when Robertson convinced Scorsese to direct The Last Waltz, the iconic film of the Band's farewell performance at the Winterland Ballroom on Thanksgiving 1976. The closing of the Band's story with that landmark concert thrust Robertson into a new and uncertain world. With his relationship with his bandmates deteriorating and his marriage collapsing, Robertson arrived on Scorsese's Beverly Hills doorstep only to find his friend in similar straits. Before the night was out, Scorsese had invited him to move in. Both men, already culture-transforming stars before the age of thirty-five, stood at a creative precipice, searching for the beginning of a new phase of life and work. As their friendship deepened into a career-altering collaboration, their shared journey would take them around the world and down the rabbit hole of American culture in the long hangover of the seventies. Buffeted on either side by temptation and paranoia, veering closer to self-destruction than either wanted to admit, together they had devoted themselves to a partnership defined by equal parts admiration and ambition. With a cast of characters featuring Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, Federico Fellini, Sophia Loren, Sam Fuller, Liza Minelli, Tuesday Weld, and many more, Insomnia is an intimate portrait of a remarkable creative friendship between two titans of American arts, one that would explore the outer limits of excess and experience before returning to tell the tale.

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9781529151916

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Reviews

Insomnia could only be more of its time if it were hand delivered by Jack Nicholson and Liza Minnelli . . . it is class-A gossip, the seventies crème de la crème caught up in their most excessive, decadent pomp . . . intense, exciting, at times delirious fun. * THE TIMES * Insomnia offers a thrilling inside story of wild times in 1970s Hollywood . . . The work they both did during that period stands for itself: some of the greatest art in their respective fields that the world has ever seen or heard. The beautiful, honest and insightful writing of Insomnia only adds to its lustre. * TELEGRAPH * A bracing read, written with enough precision and velocity. * INDEPENDENT * Insomnia is an energetic re-telling of a period that is crucial in the careers of its two main subjects. We can really feel the genesis of a great collaboration starting here, and the importance of each for the other at dark periods in their respective lives. It’s fun, insightful and a celebration of the work of both. 8/10. * CLASH * In this tale of wandering and homecoming, of trying and failing and trying something else, Robertson’s humanity feels plenty generous. * MOJO * The book chronicles a wild ride of drugs, hookups, and many movie viewing sessions, often over pasta or fine food. * ROLLING STONE *

Insomnia could only be more of its time if it were hand delivered by Jack Nicholson and Liza Minnelli . . . it is class-A gossip, the seventies crème de la crème caught up in their most excessive, decadent pomp . . . intense, exciting, at times delirious fun. * THE TIMES * Insomnia offers a thrilling inside story of wild times in 1970s Hollywood . . . The work they both did during that period stands for itself: some of the greatest art in their respective fields that the world has ever seen or heard. The beautiful, honest and insightful writing of Insomnia only adds to its lustre. * TELEGRAPH * A bracing read, written with enough precision and velocity. * INDEPENDENT * Insomnia is an energetic re-telling of a period that is crucial in the careers of its two main subjects. We can really feel the genesis of a great collaboration starting here, and the importance of each for the other at dark periods in their respective lives. It’s fun, insightful and a celebration of the work of both. 8/10. * CLASH * In this tale of wandering and homecoming, of trying and failing and trying something else, Robertson’s humanity feels plenty generous. * MOJO *

Author Information

Robbie Robertson was the guitarist and principal songwriter in the Band and had a long career as a solo artist. He produced many movie soundtracks for Martin Scorsese and others. His first memoir, Testimony, was a New York Times bestseller. Robbie Robertson died in 2023.

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